Where We Belong
by hideANDseakHannah
Summary: House of Anubis characters post graduation. If you want this to continue, review. i'm not counting favorites alone, so REVIEW. thanks in advance.
1. May 7: Graduation

**So I've decided I really enjoyed writing "Miss America" because I got to deal with the House of Anubis characters (two of the harder to write, in my opinion- in a different light: no school, no mystery, just sort of life, you know? **

**My proposal? I write a story post graduation. I'll be using what I like to call "full cast" because I honestly HATE that Nina, Amber, and soon to be Mara (even Mick, really) have left the show. **

**So, this chapter will be experimental I suppose. It's graduation. Depending on the response from you guys, I'll continue... so, let's have it. Be brutally honest. Do you love it? Hate it? Wish I'd just get in a box and die (okay, let's not be that honest...)?**

**hannahkx**

**PS: I'm not going to tell you today what couples I'm supporting through this story. I am going to let the creative license of this story flow and figure it out as I go. Sometimes the characters call for one thing or another as many writers know. **

**May 7: Graduation**

Early morning light streamed through the windows of the House of Anubis and the excited teenagers began to move about, taking showers, getting dressed, grabbing their last pastry made by the one and Trudy. They all carried themselves with a sad sort of excitement though, one ridden with nostalgia for the school for which they'd lived and attended for so long and the friends they could only pray to carry with them all of their lives.

"Amber, other people have to use the bathroom!" Patricia called from the other side of the door in her pajamas, hair pulled into a sagging ponytail.

"I'm moisturizing!" Amber yelled back, but opened the door anyway, stepping out in a gray t-shirt with her pink polka dotted bathroom bag. She flashed a smile at Patricia before walking off into her room.

Nina was sitting on her bed, running a brush through her long, brown waves. "Patricia?" She asked, smiling at Amber's face still covered with the white muck hell bent on cleansing the blonde's pores.

She nodded, sitting in front of the mirror to tend to her wet hair. "Yes, she apparently didn't shower last night like you."

Nina laughed, standing to look into her closet. "All the smart girls did." Nina half joked, because it was common knowledge that Amber's bathroom time on a normal day was forty-five minutes at least. This was graduation, most of the Anubis Girls got their showers done last night for that very reason.

"My alarm didn't go off, thank you very much." Patricia announced as she slipped into the room through the open door to grab her shampoo. "I was going to beat Barbie to it." With that, the red hair sauntered back into the hall where she nearly ran into Mara, already decked out in her maroon robe, though it was open, revealing Mara's simple blue blouse and black pants. "Ready already, Mara?" Patricia asked, although it wasn't surprising. Mara had her life for the next six years planned out.

Mara smiled, nodding. "Course I am."

"I would be too, but Amber beat me to the bathroom." Patricia answered with a laugh, gesturing to the still steamy room just to their left.

Mara nodded. "Ah, I took my shower last night."

"I know, I know." Patricia answered before sliding into the room with a smirk.

Mara laughed, walking down the stairs to sit in the living room with her bags that she'd deposited there when she had breakfast. She pulled her laptop case off of the pile and pulled it out, logging on to look at the Oxford website to peruse it at her leisure (something she'd been doing for the past three months). Just as she was reading an in depth article written about the head of the English department, she heard laughter coming from the kitchen.

"Jerome, don't be silly." Joy was saying as they walked into the room, arm in arm, both still in their pajamas. Joy's hair was pulled into a messy bun at the side of her head and Jerome's hair was tousled with sleep, but they both glowed with a sort of adoration that made Mara's stomach burn wantonly.

She couldn't worry about boys now though. After today, the boys that lived in this house would be far away. They'd all be on different paths, only intertwining at class reunions and that was sad, yes, but at the same time Mara knew today was the beginning of the rest of her life. So, she pushed down the feelings and smiled at them. "Going to get ready, lover birds?" She asked with a playful wink, flipping her fingers through her black hair.

Jerome looked down at himself, a slow grin slipping onto his pale lips. "I thought I looked just smashing for graduation. Just put on the robe and go, yeah?" He was obviously joking and Mara let herself laugh at his joke, nodding.

Joy smacked his arm playfully. "Go get dressed, Jerome." She told him before pecking his lips playfully. "Go."

He chuckled, kissing her again quickly. "Yes, mom." He said before going along his way, toward the stairs.

Joy grinned, plopping on the couch beside me and adjusting the glasses she'd put on that morning before heading to the kitchen. "Morning." She said dreamily and Mara laughed, half way amused by her dazed smile.

"You seem happy." Mara observed, closing her laptop and putting it away all the while watching her friend's face.

She nodded, standing up and rubbing her arms thoughtfully. "I am."

Meanwhile, Jerome was strolling into his bedroom where Mick was pulling on a gray button up shirt. "Alfie still downstairs?" He asked, lifting his eyes from the bottons to flash a toothy smile at Jerome.

"He's pigging out on Trudy's cooking for the last time. I doubt we'll see him for a while." Jerome replied, pulling his pajama top off and grabbing a white button down to put on.

"We have to be at the school in thirty minutes..when's he going to get dressed?"

Jerome chuckled. "Apparently he woke up early and got dressed. He's in his cap and gown right now."

"Alfie's eating in his robe?" Fabian asked, appearing in the doorway with a lifted eyebrow.

Jerome nodded. "He's more than eating." He began, grinning a bit. "Like Eddie would say, he's 'smashing.'"

Fabian laughed. "Oh, Alfie." He murmured, going on his way back into his room where Eddie was packing his bags in a pair of black pants and a black button down shirt paired with a maroon tie.

"You ready for this, man?" Eddie asked Fabian who just smiled, picking up his bags with a nod.

"Yeah, believe it or not, I am." Fabian answered, smiling.

Eddie nodded, grabbing his suit cases with a chuckle. "What do you and Nina have planned for the summer?"

Fabian smiled, sitting down at the desk and looking around at the empty walls. "Well tonight she's staying with my family and we're going to stay around my town for a little bit. Then around the end of June we'll fly to America and I'll meet her family. Then we'll start school in September."

Eddie chuckled. "Sounds like a wild ride."

Fabian smirked. "Well, what do you and Patricia have up your sleeves?"

"Point taken." Eddie declaired, smirking right back.

Fabian laughed, standing. "I'll see you downstairs, Ed."

* * *

The house was deadly calm and quiet as the ten kids stood in their maroon caps and gowns in the entryway. Nina and Fabian, Jerome and Joy, Amber and Alfie, and Eddie and Patricia were all holding hands in the silence. Mara even leaned her head over to rest it against Mick's shoulder for a moment. "I'm really going to miss this place." Mara's voice was barely audible.

Mick nodded. "Yeah, I know." After a moment, they slipped outside, now holding hands, probably for no reason but the nostalgia of the day.

Joy smiled, squeezing Jerome's hand. "Come on, let's go." She announced and the hope in her face was apparent even beyond the sadness as they slipped through the front doors.

Then stood Sibuna.

"It's ten o'clock," Patricia began, looking over at Eddie with a little smile.

He grinned, nodding. "In five minutes-"

"I want to be able to hear a-" Alfie continued, but was interrupted.

"Pen drop." They all echoed in unison before bursting into a fit of laughter.

They laughed until they began to cry and hugged each other before taking a long breath and raising their hand over their eyes.

"Sibuna."

**It won't always be third person, but this chapter was fitting for third I think :) **

**okay, so when I said "full cast" I lied..because I now realize I don't like KT and Willow enough to fit them in... sorry **

**hannahkayxx**


	2. May 8: House of Rutter

**so I suppose we're in agreement to continue this story? yay cuz it seems fun to me. i'll kind of plot things out some more tomorrow so I have more of a chapter by chapter plan, but I will tell you this story should be pretty long. just cuz...well, you'll see..**

**I started this last night, but then, yeah, didn't have time to finish it cuz it was late and yeah..**

**May 8: House of Rutter**

**Nina's POV: **

I awoke to the sound of a baby crying somewhere in the back of the house and sat up slowly, stretching my arms over my head. For a moment I was confused by my surroundings. The walls were covered with sifi posters and there was a huge bookshelf in the corner, crammed full of books. The room seemed alien and that concerned me for a fraction of a second before my eyes cast down at the queen sized bed in which I was currently sitting with it's dark blue sheets and the tuff of brown hair hanging out of the blanket.

Blinking, I slipped out of bed, recalling how we'd driven well into the night and arrived at the "House of Rutter" -as Fabian had joked, grinning wickedly by dashboard light earlier that morning- in the wee hours of the morning while everyone was asleep. Fabian unlocked the door and we slipped into the house unnoticed and quickly got into bed. It'd been a long day after all. Graduation was a long, emotional ceremony and then the entirety of Anubis house took to the road and met up at the Pizza place in town for one last hurrah. So naturally after driving for six hours we simply slipped into bed without much fuss.

I bit my bottom lip, quietly padding through Fabian's door, looking for the bathroom, when I bumped into a little girl with light brown hair and green eyes. She looked up at me with those big, innocent eyes, tilting her head to the side curiously and said, "Are you Nina?"

I nodded, laughing quietly and kneeling down to extend a hand to her. "Yes I am. Are you Madison?"

She smiled, nodding and smiling sweetly as she shook my hand. "You're even prettier than Fabian said."

I laughed again, tweaking her nose. "No, you're even prettier than he described." I told her, smiling, but glancing up to see a tall lady with straight, honey colored hair smiling at me from down the hall.

"You must be Nina." She guessed, strolling toward me and pulling me into a hug. "I'm Fabian's mom. It's so great to finally meet you."

I felt an uncontrollably big smile slip on my face as I hugged her back, nodding. "It's good to meet you to."

She let go and motioned to the kitchen down the hall. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."

I nodded. "Oh, thank you.. could you point me in the direction of the restroom?"

She nodded. "Of course. It's the door at the end of the hall." She told me before smiling and picking up Madison and heading down the hall.

I watched them go and then exhaled, walking to the door at the end of the hall and slipping silently inside. The bathroom was pained a cozy shade of green with brown towels and curtains. There was a big mirror right inside the door and I looked at my reflection and sighed. My hair was such a mess. I laughed, stepping over to use the restroom and then leaving the room to fetch my brush.

Light was pouring through Fabian's window when I appeared back in the room. I smirked for a moment, watching his chest rise and fall with sleep (he'd rolled over while I was gone, now no longer hidden by the blanket.) and his face so innocent his sate of unconsciousness, then I walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, lying my head beside his. My hand slowly snaked up to touch his face ever so lightly and his eyes blinked open, a smile brightening them. "Good morning." I whispered to him and he sighed happily.

"I could get used to this." He greeted in response, slipping one of his arms around my waist to pull me closer.

I laughed, nodding and pressing my forehead against his. "I met your mom and Madie.."

He chuckled. "How long was I out?"

I shrugged, letting my shoulders shake as I laughed silently. "I was just trying to find the bathroom."

He laughed again, nodding. "Oh." Then he smiled, tilting his face toward mine and kissing me lightly.

I smiled, leaning into his kiss before pulling away and pecking his cheek. "Your mom's fixing breakfast." With that, I hurried off to get ready for a long day of bonding with the Rutter family.

**no one ever said chapter two would be as long as chapter one. I will tell you that I personally do think chapter three will be longer than two considering the subject matter I've chosen for it :)**

**So.. I thought and looked on the wiki and thought and looked on the wiki and thought and talked to a friend and thought some more and can't think of anywhere it says Fabian is an only child. it's only assumed. anyway I thought it'd be cool if he had some siblings! **

**hannahkayxx**

**review my lovelies :) **


	3. May 9: The Intern

**Hey guys.. i'm excited to write this chapter cuz I really get to ...play. enjoy :) um.. so. I like reviews. so i'm going to have to say this. five reviews for the next update? come on guys, I got six for the first one. it really keeps me writing.**

**May 9: The Intern **

I woke to my alarm clock ringing shrilly in my ear and groaned, plastering my hand against my face as I slowly sat up. Glancing at my clock, I quickly processed the date flashing in the corner and sat up quickly, a grin spreading across my face as I hurried toward the bathroom to get ready.

Two days ago I graduated from boarding school. Yesterday I went home to spend time with my family. Today I awoke in my tiny flat in London and will start my internship with the biggest paper in all of England. How'd I swing it? After twenty-three letters to the editor, five test articles and several persistent phone calls, the editor finally gave in.

So I stepped out of the shower with a confident smile, slipping an old t-shirt over my head and going to tend to my black curls before slipping on black pants and a white button down shirt. With that, I made myself a healthy breakfast of yogurt and berries and hitting the door with fifteen minutes to spare.

The streets of London were busy as I hustled down away from my apartment building and glanced at my watch, smiling. I had plenty of time to grab a cup of coffee from the shop just down the street from the paper so I slipped into the crowded café to do just that. A few minutes later, I walked through the front doors of the paper, inhaling scent of paper fresh off the presses and holding my to go coffee mug close. Silently, I approached the front desk and smiled in greeting to the lady that looked strangely like an out of place librarian sitting behind the desk at her computer. "Mara Jaffery."

She nodded, pushing back from her desk. "This way please." Her accent was thick, but she smiled at me and led me through the doors toward what I assumed was the workroom. "You're a bit early, but the other interns are in there." She told me, pointing to a room down the long, gray hall.

"Thank you." I answered and she nodded, silently returning to her desk.

Before I'd made it halfway down the hall, a tall, lean blonde boy appeared in the doorway. He was wearing black pants and a black bazar along with black rimmed glasses and a little smirk. When I reached the doorway, he clapped his hands together, standing up fully. "Ah, you must be the new intern. I'll show you around." He greeted with a slightly mocking smile and I frowned as he began to turn toward the room. "I'm Martin, senior intern. That's Emily, junior intern," He continued, pointing toward a girl with straight ginger hair and green eyes who looked impeccably nervous by nature. "and that's Donald, sophomore intern." He added, nodding in the direction of a boy with a dark mop of hair and dark eyes that was wearing a bow tie. Then he turned to me. "You, my dear, are Freshman Intern." His smirk only grew. "You'll spend your days fetching my coffee and following me around like a puppy dog with the hopeless dream of actually meeting Mr. Bradley. Welcome to the paper, Freshman." With that he walked away down the hall.

I frowned deeply, looking over at Emily who forced a laugh. "Don't mind him, Mara. He's a bit of a jerk, but it's all in his charm."

"I can see that." I answered, biting my bottom lip as she walked over to the four cubbies set against the back wall.

"Come here," She called, motioning for me to join her. Upon closer inspection, above the cubbies was each of our names.

"So someone uses our names." I half joked, smiling weakly.

Donald chuckled. "Martin tends to use our years instead of names." He said, standing up and extending a hand to me. "Donald Roy. Sophomore at Oxford."

Mara smiled. "I'm Mara Jaffery. I'll be a freshman at Oxford this fall."

He nodded. "Brilliant."

"Spase!" Martin yelled down the hall and suddenly both Emily and Donald looked up expectantly like that was their name.

* * *

After a day at the paper, I discovered Martin called both Donald and Emily Spase. I wasn't really sure why. Anyway by the end of the day I'd gone to get Martin coffee, lunch, and started refilling the filing system that Martin made me refile the original way. I collapsed on the couch in my apartment and pulled out my phone, quickly calling Joy who luckily picked up on the first ring. "Mara! How was your first day at the paper?"

I sighed, preparing to let out all my frustration. "Awful. Apparently I'm really the intern to the 'senior intern.' He's this infuriating, snarky blonde named Martin. He's just horrid, Joy. He calls the other two interns 'Spase' and only calls me Freshman." I sighed yet again, falling back against the cushions under my body.

"Aw, Mara, I'm s-sorry." Joy stuttered, obviously distracting by something. I could hear a chuckling in the background, a near silent muffle.

I smirked. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No! Nothing." She answered quickly and exhaled.

"Okay, I'll just go." I told her but I could hear more rustling on the other end.

"Mara, don't leave. Talk to me." She persisted but I shook my head.

"No, I'm sorry," and I hung up.

**Shh. No talking about the "predictability of Marty's character." A surprise is coming. One of my three planned plot twists. It's coming. Probably three Mara chapters. Any guesses?**

**hannahxx**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	4. May 10: The Roadtrip

**guys can you get high off of gold fish?**

**May 10: The Roadtrip**

**patricia's pov:**

The wind stirred my red hair around my face and I grinned over at Eddie who was driving his brand new army green jeep down the long stretch of road we'd been driving down for two days only stopping to eat and switch between the driver's seat.

Our plan was to get away from the school and families and just hang out on the open road. In fact, we'd spent the last two days laughing and enjoying ourselves without so much as sleep. Coffee ran through our blood streams and adrenaline ran high so I surprised even myself when I said to Eddie, "Let's stop at the next town," with the intention of actually stopping for more than a burger and a refill of my jumbo sized travel mug of cherry coke.

The sun was slowly setting by that time, making it's descent through the afternoon sky as Eddie pulled off the highway and into the parking lot of a local restaurant. "You hungry, Yacker?" He asked with a chuckle, opening the driver side door with his signature snide smirk, but I grabbed his arm, pulling him back into the jeep.

The door shut with an angry thud and I smirked right back at him, pulling him by the color of his black polo shirt across the cup holders between us and giving him a devilish smile. "Yeah, I'm hungry, sleeze ball." I murmured, lips inches from his with a smirk. "Are you?"

He looked a me for a moment, eyebrows pulled together in confusion before groaning quietly in understanding. "Do you mean-"

I smirked, cutting him off with a long, searing kiss, only before pulling back to quirk an eyebrow at him. "Shut up, will you?"

With that, I kissed him again. This kiss was longer, steadier, and sent chills up my spine as my fingers pressed into his hair, pulling him closer across our drinks. "Yacker, believe me, this is amazing, but this hurts just a little bit."

Exhaling, I pulled away, lifting an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

He chuckled, straightening up and motioning to the cup holder. "Kind of restricting, don't you think?"

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms and looking out the windshield at the little, run down diner he'd pulled in before. There was a home made sign and rockers on the makeshift porch. Inwardly, I laughed. "I'm hungry." With that I got out of the car, strolling up the steps with a wicked smirk.

Eddie's door opened just as I got to the door and I heard him call, "Yacker," to me, but I was already walking inside.

* * *

"Patricia! How's the trip going?" Joy's voice asked from the other side of the line as I sat on the edge of the hotel's pool, feet dangling into the water and enjoying the cool feeling grazing the tips of my toes. It was a cool summer evening with a spotlight of a full moon and a star speckled sky reflecting back at me from the water, making it sparkle even in the darkness. Everything was still and eerily calm, slower somehow..it was nice.

"The trip's good." I answered, not entirely sure why I'd called her, but glad I had. It was nice to hear her voice. "How's...whatever you're doing with Jerome?"

Laughter trickled through the phone and I smiled at her "I'm so in love" giggle. "It's going well, thanks. Where are you now?"

I smirked just a little bit. "At a hotel."

There was a beat of silence as she processed my words. "Where's Eddie?"

"He's taking a shower." I answered, letting my feet dip down so they were resting just under the cool water and relishing the feel on my somewhat heated body. My entire body was on fire, thinking of those moments in the car earlier. Thinking about Eddie. Thinking about Eddie in the shower. Thinking about the things I'd love to do to Eddie when he gets out of the shower.

"Oh." She thought for a moment, cautiously weighing out her words in her mind like she tends to do nowadays. "Are you-"

I cut her off before she could even ask. "I honestly don't know." I breathed, looking up at the stars overhead. "Maybe."

"Oh." This time she was smiling. "Well, either way, have fun."

I laughed at her, nodding. "Yes, Mrs. Clarke." I half joked, smirking down at the moon's reflection in the water.

She laughed. "Don't make me blush."

Smiling, I nodded. "I'll talk to you soon."

"Night Patricia." The line went dead.

I placed my phone on the smooth pavement beside me, letting out a quiet breath. "You hiding, Yacker?" Eddie's voice called from behind me and I smirked.

"Hiding from what, Edison?" I asked coolly, leaning forward so I could simply watch his approaching reflection in the water.

"Me, maybe?" He looked practically delectable, wearing shorts and a black t-shirt, with wet, unruly hair.

I smirked. "As if."

He plopped beside me on the edge of the pool, swinging his long legs into the cool water. "Midnight swim, maybe?"

I laughed. "Yeah, Sleaze Ball. Let's take a swim under the moonlight." I mocked because it sounded like such a romantic thing to do. And Eddie and I are anything but romantic.

He grinned and suddenly grabbed my waist, yanking me toward the water. I gasped as my body tumbled with his into the water. We were a pile of limbs intertwined for a moment before we detangled, floating to the surface and I glared at him through my now wet red locks. "Eddie!"

He chuckled. "You said yes." He replied cheekily, grinning.

"Ever heard of sarcasm, Eddie?" I asked, peeling my now wet jacket off my body and tossing it on the side.

He shrugged, walking over to the wall with a smile. "How was Joy?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "She's overwhelmingly in love."

He cut his eyes at me suddenly, the slow smirk creeping from his eyes onto his lips. "Is she now?"

I nodded, crossing my arms as I stood half a foot away, gaging his expression. "Mhm."

He grinned then, crossing the water in one awkwardly fluent motion to sweep the hair from my face. "And you, Yacker?"

**Makes Me Wonder Closer to Love She Will Be Loved Out on the Town We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together **

**merp. feels like I should write a Joy chapter since I keep putting her in these things... :P**

**hannahkayxx**


	5. May 11: The Beach

**bahaha i'm amazing. just letting you know in advance... :) **

**Review.**

**Review.**

**Review. **

**Review.**

**Thank you in advance... heheh now you have to review cuz I thanked you hahah I win.**

**May 11: The Beach**

**Joy's POV: **

I sighed contently, reclining in the warm sand of the beach. There was no shortage of sunshine and it bent in odd fashions, reflecting off of the waves. It was all great. The sea, the sand, the sun, I'd almost forgotten it; the serine feeling of _home_. All of this was made better only by Jerome at my side.

Well, he wasn't 'by my side' right now, but figuratively. Right about now Adam's probably giving Jerome the third degree about our relationship like a good big brother should. Adam'd only gotten home from his junior year in college late last night so today was his first opportunity to strike. It should be interesting to see how that goes, but for now I'm not worrying about it.

The pages under my fingertips were soft like the sand, flipping gently in the slow breeze of early summer and I smiled, pressing my face to the pages and exhaling quietly. It was the perfect temperature here during the summer. Breezy and warm all at once, it was the perfect place to live.

Sand shifted beside me and suddenly warm hands suddenly touched my shoulders, messaging them silently. I sighed out loud, loving the feeling of Jerome's strong fingers.

He laughed at me. "Hello to you too." He greeted, but he dipped down to kiss my shoulders slowly, gently.

I groaned in response, sitting up and smiling at him. "Hey.. how'd it go with Adam?"

He smiled, wrapping his fingers around my wrist. "It went brilliantly. He loves me."

I smirked. "He does, does he?" Half of me was relieved and the other half kind of irritated. Did my only big brother seriously not give him a hard time?

"You seem shocked." He replied slipping his fingers down to cup my face. "I'm lovable."

I laughed. "Of course honey." I replied, leaning my head against his shoulder. "It just seems like my big brother should've given you a hard time, that's all."

He smirked. "He tried, but my charm and wit got the best of him." He answered before pecking my lips slowly.

I laughed against his lips, letting my forehead loll against his. "In other words, Adam's loosing his touch. " I joked before closing the space between our lips again, letting my fingers wrap around the base of his neck, deepening the kiss slightly.

He pulled away just slightly. "Aw, that hurts." He joked right back, faking a pained expression, but I just laughed, kissing him again. "Joy, I'm really beginning to think you only want me for my body." He mumbled against his lips as my fingers slipped under his thin tee shirt.

I smirked in reply. "Would you mind?"

He grinned, kissing me again. "Nope."

Things were still and quiet for a while, us a pile of tangled limbs in the sand. His lips were soft against my skin, skimming down my arms and neck, but not pushing the line. It was all kind of innocent in it's own way and it excited me in a way nothing had before. He made me feel good. Great in fact. The way he touched me, the way he kissed me, the way he smiled at me, the way he laughed with me and talked to me. He was really amazing.

"Joy." He whispered against the nape of my neck, golden hair grazing against my jaw and sending shivers down my spine.

"Yeah?" I replied, reclined against the soft sad and happily looking up at the puffy clouds above head.

He raised his face to look at me, slow grin spreading across his soft lips, pale blue eyes staring into my brown ones. His hands came up to cradle my face in his hands, brushing the hair out of my eyes, kissing me slowly, gently, innocently, perfectly. My heart swelled at the sweetness of his movements, I could barely breath as he pulled away and whispered into my ear, "Marry me."


	6. May 12: The Shocker (le gasp!)

**HEY GUYS. I've been an absentee writer lately… sorry. There isn't any excuse per say.. it's just the way life's been happening, you know? **

**I didn't want this to happen so soon, but since I know everyone knows what's going to happen.. let's just let it happen.**

**HannahKay xx**

**Mara **

**May 12: The Shocker**

I was jockeying three to-go cups of coffee down a busy London street when my cell started to ring. I groaned, shifting one of the cups in my arms and tentatively reached for my phone, careful to not jar the cups. My fingers fumbled with the snap on my jacket, jerking the phone to my hands.

"Hello?" I asked them, straightening my stance and wedging the phone between my shoulder and my ear as I pushed on toward the office.

"Mara!" Amber's voice screeched from the other end of the line and I winced at the ecstatic sound. She had that teen match maker kind of voice, high and shrill, always surprised.

I guess because of this fact I wasn't very excited by her tone until she said –in a wail of joy-, "Joy's getting married!"

That most certainly wasn't what I was expecting. I forced my way into the office, hands now clutching the cups of coffee as my face contorted into a surprised smile. "Joy's getting married?"

She giggled excitedly. "Joy's getting married!"

I exhaled slowly. "Joy's getting married."

"To Jerome." Amber added and I let out a shaky laugh.

"Who else, Amber?" I asked, pushing my way toward the intern's cubbyhole of an office. Slowly, I sat the coffees down in Emily and Donald's cubbies before slumping in my chair. "Why didn't Joy call me?"

She was silent for a moment. "She's a little busy." She answered quietly, a made up answer I was certain.

"I'll call her tonight." I answered quietly, sipping my coffee. "Thanks for letting me know."

After a moment she hung up and I sighed, opening my bag and pulling my laptop out to start it up. Interns don't get computers, but we do have access to a printer in case we're needed to print something…that they'll email us.

"Always the early bird, Freshman." I groaned at Marin's voice. "So eager to please."

"Always a pleasure, Martin." I replied, probably a little too sharp, but the blonde haired menace got under my skin and he knew it.

He chuckled, taking Donald's coffee from his cubby and taking a sip. "Mhm. Just the way you like it. Thanks, Freshman."

"I obviously got it for Donald, Martin, but thanks for taking his." I snapped, standing up.

His grin widened. "Course, sweetheart." It was a sickening sound, his voice so smooth and calculated.

"Don't call me that."

"Why ever not, sweetheart?"

"Because I'm not your sweetheart! You don't even like me."

He chuckled. "Who said I didn't like you?"

"It's obvious! You treat me like an incompetent child and drink my coffee and-"

"And?" He challenged and I registered the fact that he was extremely close to me, merely an inch or maybe two apart.

"You're an ass!" I yelled despite his closeness, hands shaking angrily.

He barked out a laugh. "There we go! Let it out, Freshman!" He goaded, grinning at me while I glared at him.

"You're insufferable! Why must you constantly degrade me by calling me 'Freshman!' My worth isn't counted by how old I am, _Martin_." I hissed his name, it tumbled angrily from my lips like a curse and his smile only grew wider. "Why're you doing that?!" My voice was venomous, ice cold rain on an early December day.

"What?" He asked, blue eyes alight with content and I groaned.

"Smiling at me like that! Why must you-"

Words failed me.

It all happened too fast.

A splash on the front page of life.

Headline "FRESHMAN INTERN MAKES OUT WITH SENIOR" (because reporters generally tend to take things up a notch no matter what happened).

In print below would be a picture of the moment when our lips crashed together, his hands forcing me to his -surprisingly-firm body by my waist.

An interview, maybe, when I'd whisper in cold blood that I "sort of liked it."

**CUZ I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE WHEN YOU WALKED IN...so shame on me now.**

**hannahkayxx**

**PS: no one has figured out my lovely little plot twist yet... hahahhaahah *masochistic laughter* review. let me know.**


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